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Cobo Center security confronts protester Dave Mott of Rockville, Maryland, as he and other protesters gather during the opening of the SAE conference at Cobo Center in Detroit on Tuesday. / Andre J. Jackson/ Detroit Free Press

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Technology, high-skills training and energy leadership are among the key components to making American industry competitive worldwide, General Electric chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said in his keynote address at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress this morning.

“Engineering is never more important than it is today. Technology is never more important than it is today,” he said, explaining that his company’s research-and-development spending has increased from 2% to 6%.

For the thousands of engineers in attendance, Immelt’s most salient points were about electric vehicles. GE itself is involved in on-board vehicle technology, grid energy management and fleet management services, among other things, but is probably best known for its WattStation, an EV charger. In addition, the corporation is invested in lithium and sodium batteries as a result of its work on locomotives and is researching post-battery life applications.

“We see changes in energy, changes in transportation, as big windows of opportunity in this country,” he said.

But he was realistic about EVs, saying that their popularity will ebb and flow, but GE is “going to hang around the hoop.”

Immelt, who chairs the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, also talked about the importance of creating jobs, both short-and long-term – and of minting new engineers to compete globally against powerhouses like China and Japan who graduate.

The speech was twice interrupted by protestors, chanting, “We are the 99%. Pay your fair share,” which Immelt later joked was good practice for Wednesday’s shareholders’ meeting.